Okay so this is a question directed to those with shapeshifting tulpa. How did your tulpa become a shapeshifter? Was it their choice, or yours or both? And how does it work, do they change constantly or just every forcing session or what?

Also how does imposition work with that? Can they take shapes you've never visualized them as?

Midnight is not imposed, so I can't tell you much about that, but I would imagine that you would have to choose a set of forms, and work on imposing them all. However, I can tell you how it happens in the wonderland. She shapeshifts basically whenever she wants. The other night, in fact, I witnessed her at the drop of a hat change from her usual form into a human form, which I might add I have never seen her take before. We both kind of decided that we wanted her to shapeshift. Right now we are working on a few original forms for her to take.

My tulpa can count as a shapeshifter. It was none of my choice or even hers. I believe that shapeshifting is harmful because it can harm one's sense of identity as they change and alter the way they look. The form slowly becomes part of the tulpa, they slowly start identifying to it. My tulpa can shapeshift pretty fine, but slowly and steadily, she will become poisoned with her own body. The first few days will be fine if not great, she will feel great and she'll be active all the time, saying stuff like 'I love you' 'I'm really glad we went through this transition' 'Maybe this time is the good one, [REDACTED]!' (she calls me by my first name obviously). After 2 days, signs of anxiety and general lack of comfort will show up, the same signs she usually suffers from with her typical original base form. It's very much like a slow type of torture. The more time she spends in that sort of change, the more she will feel like her identity is altered to the point she is taken to points where she cannot identify with what she has become.

After a week or so, that's when it will get bad. My tulpa will start being affected by visualization of me dying, of terrible things happening, and her other cognitive capacities will be completely shut down for long periods of time... until she switches back to her original form. She hates her original form, but it's the lesser of two evils.

I don't know why anyone would even want a shapeshifting tulpa. I know that people don't have it as that, but an identity is something very precious.

(03-03-2016, 07:48 PM)J.Iscariot Wrote: I don't know why anyone would even want a shapeshifting tulpa. I know that people don't have it as that, but an identity is something very precious.

It sucks that your tulpa experiences this, but I think it's important to point out that form =/= identity.

I know. Weird for a soulbond to say that, right? We're known for being extremely attached to our forms.

But here's the thing: my SO in the headspace swaps between two species depending on mood. We also have a few age sliders in here. I don't know if this has to do with being a soulbond over a tulpa, but none of them have ever had any identity issues from this, because part of their identity is shapeshifting.

A form can be part of your identity, yeah, but when you're a being made of pure psyche, form is more an expression of identity than it is what defines it (a luxury we have over you physical folks, yeah?). It can be like switching out your outfit. My SO finds it liberating to be able to swap between his two forms, because sometimes he just feels more in line with one form than the other. But the baseline of who he is remains the same. He, as a person (feelings, memories, opinions, sense of self, etc.), doesn't change; it's just what he looks like that changes.

Though, it is worth mentioning that I can see why this could be tricky if you're first making a tulpa, since visualizing them is usually easier if you have a single visual image you associate with them to focus on. Not saying making a shapeshifter right out of the box can't be done, just that there is the chance that a younger tulpa will strongly equate their form with their identity. If that happens, well, J. Iscariot's warning says enough about that, I think.

Of course, the form is not the actual identity, I agree with you on that, and I apologize for driving along the wrong message. A tulpa could adapt a different form and they'd still be them, but I meant to say that the form plays a certain role in the formation of the sense of identity and identification to being something. For instance, my tulpa identifies to being a, uh.... let's call it LG. She identifies as a LG. There isn't much anyone can do about that, that's just the way she is and it's not anything bad, but it's just how it is. It's not something we can change because it's deeply written in her psyche.

Generally, tulpas aren't tied to making changes during forcing sessions, so this can just happen whenever. You don't have to 'force' the ability to shapeshifte onto your tulpa, meaning that they'll be able to change what they want at any point. With imposition, if it's a form that we're unfamiliar with, it will be hazy for a short while.

Hi, this is me Ranger speaking.
I chose my form because I liked it. However, I like that my body is flexible and I can change it whenever I like, and I enjoy the freedom of doing my own thing. If I didn't have that ability, I would feel stuck. I'm glad I can morph when needed because some times are more convenient than others. I like being in one form, but sometimes I need to change my form for various reasons. I'm still experimenting, but for the most part I'm pretty happy with what I have.

I never really cared that much what Ranger looked like, however I do appreciate it when he's in a form I'm more familiar with. I'm still working on visualization so my image of him is more consistent and I am still working on imposing Ranger into real life. It bothers him a little when he feels he needs to change into a specific form when I'm having trouble visualizing him and/or upset, but he thinks I am more bothered by that than he is. My goal is to keep working on visualization and imposition so Ranger can be more specific about what he looks like as time progresses.

Pretty much my Wonderland form minus the glasses and the fur. I'm not a hippo, I promise.
Ranger now speaks in light blue text, but some of his older posts are in blue text and his oldest posts are in orange text.

Shade can change forms at will, though she likes to keep it humanoid. I can also change her form with concentration, she's given explicit permission to do so lol. Also, interestingly one time we decided to have a battle of will over form changing (we both tried to change her form at the same time, trying to take precedent over the other) and she just ended up turning into what I can only describe as grey mush before dissociating. It took a while to get back in contact with her, and she described the experience as "being torn apart, but in a weird ticklish way. It didn't hurt but it wasn't pleasant."